Barnes Butte
Barnes Butte is a low but prominent desert summit in Phoenix, Arizona, rising immediately north of the better-known formations of Papago Park. Although surrounded by one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southwest, the butte preserves a striking piece of the Salt River Valley’s complicated geologic history.
The summit is particularly unusual because it lies within the Papago Park Military Reservation, an active Arizona National Guard installation. Unlike the public trails around neighboring Papago Park, Barnes Butte itself should not be treated as an open-access recreational summit. Its combination of geology, military history, and connection to Arizona author and Medal of Honor recipient Will C. Barnes makes it one of Phoenix’s more interesting but seldom-explored landmarks.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Maricopa County |
| City | Phoenix |
| Region | Papago Park / Salt River Valley |
| Elevation | About 1,738 ft / 530 m |
| Prominence | About 467 ft / 142 m |
| Isolation | About 2.89 mi / 4.65 km |
| Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN) | Camelback Mountain |
| Geologic Setting | Papago Park pediment |
| Protected/Managed Area | Papago Park Military Reservation |
| Public Summit Access | Restricted |
| Coordinates | Approximately 33.468° N, 111.956° W |
Peakbagger’s current peak data lists Barnes Butte at about 1,738 feet with approximately 467 feet of prominence and 2.89 miles of isolation. Older USGS/GNIS-derived sources give a mapped elevation of about 1,690 feet, so slightly different elevations may appear depending on the source and measurement method.
🏜️ A Desert Landmark in Central Phoenix
Barnes Butte rises in the eastern portion of Phoenix near the collection of sandstone and breccia formations commonly associated with Papago Park.
To the southeast are the recognizable Papago buttes, including Papago Big Butte, while the larger profile of Camelback Mountain dominates the northeastern skyline.
The mountain’s setting is distinctly urban. Roads, neighborhoods, parks, golf courses, museums, the Phoenix Zoo, and the Desert Botanical Garden surround the broader Papago area, yet isolated rocky hills still rise abruptly from the otherwise developed Salt River Valley.
Barnes Butte is one of the most prominent of these remnants.
🪨 The Geology of Barnes Butte
Barnes Butte is particularly important to geologists because its name has been applied to the Barnes Butte Breccia Member of the Camels Head Formation.
The Arizona Geological Survey describes this unit as a reddish-brown, coarse-grained breccia containing large angular fragments of granite and metarhyolite held within a matrix of smaller rock fragments and iron-oxide cement. Individual clasts can range from less than an inch across to blocks several feet in diameter.
This is a much more complicated geological story than simply describing Barnes Butte as a sandstone hill.
The Papago Park landscape exposes a mixture of very old crystalline basement rocks and considerably younger sedimentary deposits. The basement includes Precambrian granite and metarhyolite, while younger deposits accumulated above them as talus, mudflows, debris flows, and alluvial-fan sediments.
Over millions of years, faulting, uplift, erosion, and sedimentation created the unusual collection of red and brown buttes visible around modern Phoenix.
🌎 The Papago Park Pediment
Barnes Butte sits within an important geological feature known as the Papago Park pediment.
A pediment is a gently sloping erosional surface that develops at the foot of mountainous terrain. In the Papago Park area, erosion stripped away much of an uplifted fault block while leaving harder masses of rock standing above the surrounding surface as isolated hills and buttes.
Arizona Geological Survey mapping describes the Papago Park pediment as the erosional remnant of an uplifted fault block cut by several smaller faults. Continued erosion reduced the original upland into scattered rocky remnants protruding above the surrounding terrain.
Barnes Butte is one of those remnants.
This geological history helps explain why so many isolated hills rise abruptly from otherwise relatively level ground around Phoenix and Tempe.
🏔️ Barnes Butte and the Papago Buttes
Immediately southeast of Barnes Butte are the famous formations of Papago Park.
Papago Big Butte reaches roughly 1,670 feet and has Barnes Butte as its nearest higher neighbor. Peakbagger places the two summits only about a third of a mile apart in terms of higher-terrain isolation.
Yet the experience of visiting the two mountains is very different.
Papago Park contains a developed public trail network. The City of Phoenix maintains routes such as the Big Butte Loop, Double Butte Loop, Little Butte Loop, and Hole-in-the-Rock Trail.
Barnes Butte, on the other hand, is located within the adjoining military reservation and is not simply an extension of those public hiking trails.
The distinction is important for anyone researching the summit.
🚫 Can You Hike Barnes Butte?
Barnes Butte should not be approached as an ordinary public hiking destination.
The summit lies within the Papago Park Military Reservation, an active military installation used by the Arizona National Guard. Access to the installation is controlled, and visitors without appropriate Department of Defense identification may be subject to security procedures and restrictions.
Older peakbagging records or maps may show ascents of Barnes Butte, but those should not be interpreted as confirmation that the general public currently has unrestricted summit access.
Hikers should never cross gates, fences, signed boundaries, or military property in an attempt to reach the summit.
Fortunately, neighboring Papago Park offers an extensive legal trail system where visitors can experience the same broader desert landscape.
🥾 Hiking Near Barnes Butte
The easiest way to experience the scenery around Barnes Butte is to explore Papago Park rather than attempting the restricted summit.
The park’s trails are generally short and comparatively gentle by Phoenix hiking standards. The City of Phoenix describes the terrain as predominantly sandstone buttes connected by relatively easy trails suitable for hiking, running, and mountain biking.
The Big Butte Loop Trail circles the larger western Papago formation and provides views toward downtown Phoenix. At only about 0.8 mile with modest elevation change, it is significantly easier than summit hikes such as Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak.
The nearby Hole-in-the-Rock Trail is another extremely short option and leads to one of Papago Park’s best-known natural openings.
These routes allow visitors to appreciate the geology surrounding Barnes Butte without entering restricted military property.
🎖️ Who Was Will C. Barnes?
Barnes Butte is named for Will Croft Barnes, one of the more remarkable figures in Arizona’s territorial-era history.
Barnes served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and received the Medal of Honor for bravery during fighting at Fort Apache in 1881. He later became a stockman, territorial legislator, U.S. Forest Service official, writer, and authority on Arizona geography.
He is especially remembered for Arizona Place Names, an influential reference work documenting the origins and histories of place names throughout the state.
Following his death in 1936, the Maricopa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a memorial at Barnes Butte in 1938. The memorial identifies him as a soldier, Medal of Honor recipient, stockman, legislator, forester, and author.
The memorial itself is also located within the military reservation and therefore is not necessarily accessible as an ordinary roadside historical marker.
🌵 Sonoran Desert Ecology
Despite its urban surroundings, the broader Barnes Butte and Papago Park area remains part of the Sonoran Desert.
Characteristic plants include saguaros, palo verde, creosote bush, brittlebush, cholla, prickly pear, and barrel cactus. These species are adapted to intense sunlight, low rainfall, and long periods of extreme heat.
Wildlife surviving within Phoenix’s desert preserves can include Gambel’s quail, cactus wrens, mourning doves, roadrunners, coyotes, cottontails, jackrabbits, lizards, and several species of snake.
The survival of these desert communities inside a heavily developed metropolitan region is one reason protected landscapes such as Papago Park remain ecologically important.
☀️ Best Time to Explore the Area
For hiking in nearby Papago Park, late fall through early spring usually offers the most comfortable conditions.
Winter days can be pleasantly mild, while February and March may bring desert wildflowers following favorable winter rainfall.
By late spring, temperatures rise quickly.
Summer conditions in Phoenix can be dangerous, with extreme heat creating serious risks even on short trails. Anyone hiking during warm weather should check current trail restrictions, carry ample water, protect themselves from the sun, and choose the coolest available part of the day.
The City of Phoenix periodically restricts access to some trails during extreme-heat events, so current park information should always take precedence over older hiking guides.
🌄 Nearby Mountains
Barnes Butte sits within an unusually dense collection of urban mountains.
Camelback Mountain
Camelback Mountain rises northeast of Barnes Butte to approximately 2,700 feet. Its much greater height and prominence make it one of the dominant natural landmarks of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Camelback is also Barnes Butte’s nearest higher neighbor.
Papago Big Butte
Papago Big Butte lies immediately southeast and is one of the principal formations within Papago Park.
Interestingly, Barnes Butte is Papago Big Butte’s nearest higher neighbor, creating a direct topographic relationship between the two peaks.
Tempe Butte
Tempe Butte rises farther southeast beside Arizona State University. Better known locally as Hayden Butte or “A Mountain,” it is another isolated rocky landmark rising from the Salt River Valley.
Piestewa Peak
Piestewa Peak rises northwest of Barnes Butte in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve and offers one of the city’s most popular summit hikes.
Mummy Mountain
Mummy Mountain rises north of Camelback in Paradise Valley. Like Barnes Butte, it is an important reminder that not every prominent mountain visible within metropolitan Phoenix is open for public summit hiking.
📸 What Makes Barnes Butte Special?
Barnes Butte is easy to overlook.
It is neither particularly high nor associated with a famous public summit trail. In fact, its location within a military reservation means many Phoenix residents may pass within a few miles of the mountain without ever visiting it.
Yet Barnes Butte has an unusually rich story.
Its rocks preserve evidence of ancient faulting, erosion, debris flows, and the development of the Papago Park pediment. Its name commemorates an important figure in Arizona history. Its location connects it directly with the famous Papago buttes, while its restricted access sets it apart from them.
Barnes Butte also demonstrates that elevation alone does not determine a mountain’s importance. At less than 1,800 feet above sea level, it is tiny compared with many Arizona summits. But as a geological remnant, historical landmark, and distinctive piece of Phoenix’s desert skyline, it is one of the more intriguing small mountains in the Salt River Valley.
🔗 Related Articles
📚 Sources
- Peakbagger — Barnes Butte
- Arizona Geological Survey — Tilted Red Beds Near Papago Park
- Arizona Geological Survey — Geologic Cross Sections of the Papago Park Pediment
- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality — Papago Park Military Reservation Five-Year Review
- Arizona DAR Historical Markers — Will Croft Barnes Butte
- City of Phoenix — Papago Park
- City of Phoenix — Papago Park Trails
